R.Avrohom Leventhal: Let's Not Be Silent





The behavior affecting the innocent children at Orot Banot is intolerable. The silence from RBSA is equally intolerable.

The time has come to express our support to the girls,their parents and the entire Givat Sharet community at large. One can only imagine the thoughts running through the minds of these young and impressionable girls as they trek off to school each day. Will I be screamed at? Will someone try to throw something at me? There has been a need to bring therapists into the school to help the kids.

Can you imagine?

How would we feel if our children would be terrified to go to or return from school? What is most concerning is that the source of this fear is other Jews!

This is the time to show achdus and unity for others in our own community. Let us show these children that it is in fact only a very small group that behaves in such a way and the rest of us will not stand for it. Nothing can justify what is happening to the girls.

The famous words of a German cleric come to mind (and I paraphrase):
 They came for the Jews, but I wasn't a Jew so I didn't protest.
 They came for the workers, but I wasn't a worker so I didn't object.
 They came for the Communists, but I wasn't a Communist so I didn't stand up.
 When they came for the clergy, there was no one left to stand up for me.

 Today it is Orot Banot. Tomorrow it could be a school in RBSA.

 The residents of RBSA can not be silent. Please voice (and write and post) your support of our fellow Jews and neighbors.

 B"Birchas Shalom Al Yisrael,
 Rabbi Avrohom Leventhal
 Lema'an Achai

Comments

  1. Haredi Mother6 September 2011 at 11:43

    I couldn't agree more with this. I went to the first organised protest and apart from the crazies on the other side of the fence, I felt I was the only Haredi representative there ( apart from my husband).My DL friends were surprised but happy to see me, but where was everyone else? What the moderate/american/working Haredim of this city need to understand is that we cannot expect others to stand up for us when its our turn to be challenged. Magen Avot is in RBS Bet. The boys and girls schools are right next door. The majority of students travel in from Alef. What's to stop the extremists going after this large, well-equipped and convenient school building? We have to decide what kind of city we want to live in.Socio-culturally most working Haredim are closer to the Nofei aviv/Sheinfeld population than the Meah Shearim Hassidim. Most of us have family and friends there. can we be so arrogant to expect them to organise protests and rallies for us when it's our turn to be attacked? Will BTYA, Aish Kodesh, Shiftei Yeshurun protest when it's mothers and daughters have their dress code challenged? If we give in to extremism on any level, then its just a matter of time.

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